1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a field emission display (FED) and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to an FED that can efficiently focus electron beams and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Display devices, which account for one of the most important parts of conventional data transmitting media, have been used in personal computers and television receivers. The display devices include cathode ray tubes (CRTs), which use high-speed heat electron emission, and flat panel displays, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma display panel (PDPs), and field emission displays (FEDs), which have been rapidly developing in recent years.
Of these flat panel displays, an FED is a display device that enables electrons to be emitted from a field emitter arranged at regular intervals on a cathode electrode by forming a strong electric field between the field emitter and a gate electrode and radiating light by colliding the electrons with a fluorescent material of an anode electrode. The FED, which is a very thin display device having a thickness of only several centimeters, has many advantages, such as a wide angle of vision, low power consumption, and low manufacturing costs. This is why the FED has long been considered as one of the most prominent next generation display devices, together with an LCD and a PDP.
The FED takes advantage of almost the same physical principle as a CRT. That is, a light beam having a predetermined color is radiated from a fluorescent material coated on an anode electrode when electrons emitted from a cathode electrode are accelerated toward and collide with the anode electrode. However, there is a distinctive difference between the FED and the CRT in that an emitter of the FED, unlike an emitter of the CRT, is formed of a cold cathode material.
In an FED, the electron beam must be oriented so that it lands in the correct place, in the correct pixel where there is an anode and a phosphor layer. In order to direct the trajectory of the beam in the right direction, a separate electrode is employed. The problem is that when such a focusing electrode is incorporated into the design of the FED, separate layers need to be produced. This is very costly from a manufacturing standpoint and thus such added process steps are a drawback. If the focusing electrode is on a same level as a gate electrode, the electric fields of these two electrodes interact in a negative way. Therefore, what is needed is a design for an FED where a focusing electrode is incorporated into the design in such a way so as not to add extra process steps while being effective in controlling the direction of a trajectory of an electron beam.